


Into the Light

by Kathy_Chase



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-21
Updated: 2014-10-26
Packaged: 2018-02-22 01:51:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2490101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kathy_Chase/pseuds/Kathy_Chase
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hermione is looking forward to a weekend away from everything but Ron picks an argument moments before her departure, causing her to leave on a sour not. At the Welcoming Meal she is seated besides someone no one had seen since the Battle of Hogwarts; Severus Snape! Over the weekend they talk more and more before realizing that they have more in common than they thought...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1

Disclaimer: All characters and settings belong to J K Rowling

This is my first fanfiction, I hope you like it! 

* * *

  


**Chapter 1**

 “Ron, you are being impossible!” Hermione moved around the bedroom packing her short stay bag ready for her weekend away.

 “Am I? Am I really? Well excuse me for wanting to spend a weekend with my girlfriend.”

 “That isn’t the point, Ronald,” Hermione let out an exasperated sigh. One weekend, it was one weekend away from him. Could he not just let her have some time to herself? It had been two and a half years since they had realized their feelings for one another but since then, since introducing certain things to their lives, he had been far too clingy for her liking. “It isn’t as though I’m leaving you forever, Merlin’s beard we could both use some time apart. It’ll do us good. I can’t remember the last time I spent a few days without seeing you. When was the last time you and Harry went out?”

 “But I want to be with you, Hermione; we can see Harry any other time. You've been working all week-“

 “And every bloody second we’ve spent out of work has been together. I’m not going to apologize, Ron. We both need our space even if you don’t want to admit it. It isn’t healthy for a relationship if we’re constantly together. There’s never any time to grow as separate people.”

 “You’re just embarrassed of me, aren’t you? Stupid Weasley, doesn’t know a damned thing about muggle culture! Don’t even bother trying to deny it, you know that all this is just you not wanting to be seen with me in public in front of a load of muggles. You’re afraid I won’t be able to blend in and that people will notice and that    I will ruin everything.”

 Throwing the jumper she had in her hands into her bag, Hermione stopped packing and looked at Ron dead in the eye. She was done with fighting this battle.

 “I’m going to the muggle Culture Festival without you, Ronald. End of story. You know what? There isn’t even any room for an argument any more. I’m done. You’re obviously not mature enough to handle my needs decently as well as reigning in your own. You have refused to give me a weekend alone for more than a year now and I’m not standing for it anymore.”

 Ron looked to the floor, then back to her face. He could see he had crossed a line, she didn’t even look angry anymore. Just resigned and determined. Tears prickled his eyes.

 “I’m sorry Hermione, I-“ He was cut off abruptly when she turned her back to him and zipped up her bag, pulled on her winter coat and scarf and slung her bag over her shoulder, ready to leave. His features darkened as his brows knit into an uncertain frown. “Hold on, you’re not actually serious!”

 “Try me, Ron. I’m done. You can’t just turn on the water works and expect me to give into you. You’ve used that card far too many times. I’m tired of it. I’m tired of you,” she looked to the ground, then back to him for her final word. “I’m breaking up with you, Ron. I need my own space and at this rate that space is growing significantly smaller by the second. We need time apart. And more importantly you need to grow up; otherwise you will never have a functioning relationship. I’ll be back to pick up the rest of my belongings soon.”

 And with that Ron was left staring as she walked out of the room. Hermione felt the tears start to roll down her cheeks freely now that she was out of his sight. As she reached the bottom steps in the house she heard crashes as Ron went into a fit of rage and tore the room apart. With a faint *pop* Hermione dissaparated from the vicinity.

 Hermione arrived at her destination no less than a second later. She arrived in a damp alley, surrounded by many tall, elegant buildings. She pulled her coat tighter around her and scolded herself for thinking it would be better to bring more books than jumpers. It wasn’t as though she would have time to read them anyway, if even a page! The Culture Festival was planned so perfectly that the majority of her time would be used meeting new people who also loved good literature, music, art and food as well as actually experiencing some of those things, starting with the meal this evening cooked by some of the best chefs in the world. At this meal the seating was pre-arranged in order for who people sat next to, to be completely random. The seating arrangement would be in her hotel room, waiting, with only her name and her seat so she could not even guess who she would be seated with. She was looking forward to meeting some like-minded people who had interests in conversations which actually required a brain cell or two.

 She walked brusquely out of the alley and down the busy street. She had missed being in a muggle city, other than London. London had, to a point, been spoiled by all of the magic which it contained. She was too well known there among the magical community so she was always meeting witches and wizards who recognized her from the papers. Before she was eleven she could have been eating in a restaurant without knowing that below her were house elves cooking their food to perfection. Now there were only a few places she could go to without feeling the need to request the presence of the manager so that she could give them a piece of her mind.

 Here in this city she blended into the background. She could walk and not have a care in the world. Buses and cars passed her on the busy street. Only a few people took notice of her, which was to be expected, but they were not as rude as the witches and wizards of London and allowed her to go about her business.

 She soon entered her hotel and signed in. She smiled gratefully at the woman behind the desk and went to find her room in the large hotel. It was rather grand, with plenty of art on the walls. She could tell why the festival was being held in this city; it had history and culture in plenty!

 When she got into her room she decided to have her second shower of the day to warm up after being outside in the cold and to relax after her argument with Ron. It was then that the realisation struck her; she was single! Had she really broken up with Ron? Going over the conversation in her head she realised she had and was surprised to find that she felt light hearted knowing she would no longer have to put up with him. She decided that although she loved him she did not want to be with him, and that was ok. They needed their time apart. _Who knows?_ She thought. _Maybe one day he’ll grow up and we’ll be able to be together again._

 Hermione made her way down the stairs later that evening in a dress she had bought especially for this occasion. She knew it was a posh event and didn’t want to look drab. Her hair was up with threads of curls hanging here and there. Her dress was long and slim. It was midnight blue in colour, the shape of it clung to her body in all the right places, until her hips where it hung gracefully, covering all of her legs apart from one little slice, visible due to the split in the fabric put there by the designer to tease others. The dress revealed a bit of her cleavage, but not so much that it was not modest. Her back was visible due to the lack of cloth, the front of her dress was held in place by thin strips of fabric tied together at the back of her neck, in a halter neck style.

 An attendant ushered her through the warmly lit lobby into the ballroom where tables and chairs had been set up. Hermione glanced around nervously. There were a lot of people there, she saw no one who looked her age. _Maybe it would have been nice to have someone here with me._ She sighed before quickly scolded herself for momentarily thinking she had been wrong in what she had said to Ron and reminded herself that she was here to meet new people who she was more compatible with. Looking around again she noticed how elegant everyone looked. A small smiled tugged at the corner of her mouth at the thought of Ron trying to fit in at a place like this. He wouldn’t have lasted ten minutes before giving himself away.

 Soon she was being escorted to her seat at a table with five other people, none of which had yet arrived. She sat down on her chair and took up the menu so she could look at the drinks; meals were already pre-booked for the event. She was too nervous to pick her head up as she felt people beginning to fill up the table. A waiter came around to take orders for drinks.

 “What would you like, ma’am?” The waiter asked Hermione with a smile.

 “Just water, please.” She replied.

 She gave her menu back to Jane, the name of the waiter indicated by her badge. Hermione put a stray piece of her hair behind her ear and listened to the others on her table. The person next to her asked for a small glass of whiskey. Hermione snapped to attention as she heard his voice. She opened her eyes and looked to her side. Her stomach dropped and her heartbeat accelerated.

 “Actually,” she said as she gained Jane’s attention. “Can I have a glass of wine please?”

 Jane nodded and left the table. Hermione turned her head and smiled around the table, but avoided the gaze of the man seated next to her. Her old potions professor; Severus Snape!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Hermione took a big gulp of her wine as soon as it arrived. The table was quiet as people were preparing the right words for introducing themselves. She looked out of the corner of her eye at Snape. He looked different, in some ways younger. It was as though the stresses of the war had finally been lifted from his shoulders and he was able to be his own age again. Without a million and one responsibilities. He was in muggle clothing, she noted. He wore a black muggle suit, of high quality. It looked very smart with his shorter hair. His greasy long black had been cut so it was only an inch or two long. She knew he had noticed her, at least she thought he had. He must have recognized her, his gaze had lingered on her for a few seconds longer than most people, so why hadn't he said anything?

Looking around her table Hermione noted there were three other women and one more man, other than Snape. The woman sitting to Hermione's left looked to be in her 30s, the other two in their late 40s or early 50s. The last man, who wore a tuxedo, looked to Hermione to be in his early 40s.

The woman in her 30s looked at Hermione with a nervous smile.

"Hi, I'm Linda. What's your name?" She asked, finally plucking up the courage to speak.

"Hi, Linda, My name is Hermione, Hermione Granger."

Snape looked again at the young woman seated beside him, taking a second look.  _Hermione Granger?_  He thought, petrified all of a sudden at the thought that someone from the wizarding world had found him at last, after spending two and a half years of his life trying to escape his old life while trying to blend into a muggle civilian lifestyle. It had not been easy. He would not have been able to do it without the help of Dumbledore. Even after death the old man's advice was helpful. When he had been alive he told Snape of a man who would be able to help Snape recover after the war was over and his part was done. This man, Fred Craston, was a man who had been a muggle until he received his Hogwarts letter. After completing his Hogwarts studies he had decided upon taking a job mainly in the muggle world where he was to help wizards and witches who wanted to transfer to an entirely muggle life, and he was able to provide counselling to those with bigger struggles. This was ideal for Snape. Fred had become a trustworthy confidant for Snape who had managed to work through all of his guilt, resentment and grief over the past few years.

He looked again at the elegant young woman beside him. How had he not recognized her? He recognized her wavering high pitched voice anywhere. The little know-it-all and interrupted his classes often enough for him not to even look in her direction to know who she was. But she looked extremely different now; elegant even. Her hair was up with tendrils of curly hair framing her face in a way that screamed for her cheekbones to be recognized. Her backless dress, he noticed, had a few other men casting glances in her direction. She was one of the youngest people in the room, and yet she fit. It was as though she had been bred, born and raised in a family of class, knowledge and culture. It was obvious she belonged in this crowd of people.

He heard snippets of the conversation she was having with the older woman called Linda. They were talking about Shakespeare, someone he had learnt a great deal about over the past couple of years after initially hearing about him through Fred. He was a known writer of a high standard. He had lived centuries ago, about a century after the death of Nearly Headless Nick, Fred had informed him. It interested Snape that such a historical man's writings were still known today, if not more so than back then.

He listened closer to the conversation. He had never realized before but Hermione Granger was mature for her age. She seemed extremely capable,comfortable even, in holding a conversation with someone older than herself. He was deciding on whether or not to talk. He would have preferred not to but the conversation was rather intriguing. They were discussing the real ages of the characters in the play.

"Was Juliet 12, 13 or 14?" Linda was asking.

"I believe she was 13, and Romeo was 19 or so, if memory serves," Hermione replied.

Snape cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, I couldn't help overhearing and I can help you with Romeo's age. You're right about Juliet being 13 but Romeo's age was never specifically mentioned. We can safely assume he was around the age of 17-30 but if we can go on all the information we have on Shakespeare's time then we should be able to safely assume that his age was more or less in his early 20s."

Hermione looked up at him, momentarily in shock that he had actually acknowledged his previous student, for whom he had never showed much liking for. In fact, at times he had appeared to have loathed her very existence purely due to the fact that she was a Gryffindor who was best friends with Harry Potter, the son of his old bully and the love of his life.

She decided that no matter how he had treated her in the past this was now, and it would not be fair to shrug him off when he was obviously making a small effort to be civil.

"Thank you," She said, smiling. Their eyes met momentarily, before Linda broke in.

"Sorry, sir, I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you," she said, holding out her hand to Snape. "My name's Linda, Linda Edwards. And this young lady here is Hermione."

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Linda," Snape smiled and shook her hand before awkwardly accepting Hermione's handshake. "Forgive me, my name is Severus Snape."

"Severus Snape," Linda rolled the name out with a questioning tone. "What an odd name, don't you agree?"

Hermione smiled at Linda, then back to Snape.

"I think it's an especially unique name," She replied in a light tone. "But not a terrible one."

Linda, on her second glass of wine, giggled.

"You both have unique names, for sure."

The rest of the meal was fairly easy going, the food was delicious. Snape and Hermione's interactions were minimal and they didn't get much time to talk individually. As the evening progressed and wine went around everyone at the table engaged in conversation with one another. Hermione paid attention to Snape and how he spoke and the gestures he used. He was nothing like he used to be. He used to radiate stress, sadness and anger which rubbed off on the people in his presence. Now, however, he smiled, he laughed, he even joked! He seemed more carefree than in his past. Despite everything that had happened at Hogwarts this man before her was changed. He was content and, for the time being, happy.

The evening wound down with a short speech from one of the people holding the event, a young man from a university nearby. His name was Sydney Harris, and was 23 years of age. He thanked everyone for attending and informed them all of the following morning's plans, up until lunch where they would be updated for the afternoon. Towards the end he said there was another room where they could go to talk as they relaxed before going to their bedrooms, so that the staff could begin to clean the ballroom. By the time he had finished it was only 10:45pm. Linda asked Hermione to go with her to the lounge, and so Hermione obliged.

In the lounge Hermione stood at the coffee counter, waiting to be served as Linda lounged on a sofa where Hermione had told her to go as she was dizzy on her feet after the alcohol. She felt a small breeze beside her before settling as quickly as it had come. She looked up to identify who had come to stand beside her. Her eyes settled on no other than Severus Snape.

"Hello, Proffes… I mean… err, hello, Sir," She said, smiling awkwardly unsure what she should have called him.

It was as though he had read her mind because seconds later he said "You may call me Severus, or Snape if you prefer. We are in public, surrounded by muggles, and so we must act normal, even if only for appearances."

He returned her smile.

"Would you like to join us?" She asked, gesturing to Linda who was now across the room with a group of people Hermione didn't know. Her shoulders dipped slightly, realizing she had been ditched.

"Do you have a habit of picking up rogues, Granger?" Snape asked with, to Hermione's surprise, a genuine light hearted bit of jesting! She soon realized he was also referring the two boys who were her best friends in Hogwarts.

"I suppose I do, Snape," She smiled so much she felt a little bit goofy. She was unused to this version of Snape; it was a relief to her to know that he was alive and doing well. Her big smile died to a light nervous smile. In a hushed tone she asked "Where did you go? After the battle everyone searched for you, people miss you."

Snape's smile visibly reduced but didn't entirely disappear. He noticed her features were etched with a small amount of concern, unless it was just his imagination. Hermione could tell he was uncomfortable with the change in topic. Snape knew this would be unavoidable. After having a few short conversations this evening he had realized that the curiosity lurked behind those clever hazel eyes that would not be ignored by her. She never had been one for holding her tongue.

"I will tell you if you want to know, but not with all these muggles around. It wouldn't be ideal to be found out in this manner after trying to fit in for so long." Hermione agreed.

"Ok, well this line isn't moving any time soon, maybe there's somewhere without so many people around where we can talk?" Snape offered.

"That would be ideal," Hermione replied, biting her lower lip. Snape couldn't help but notice how much she had grown and developed. The way in which she stood made her figure known. She now stood not as a student bored of waiting but as an adult, as a woman. A woman who was rather stunning, he had to admit to himself. Her hazel eyes twinkled in the dim light.

"Shall we?" He asked, gesturing to the doorway.

"Very well," She smiled and allowed him to lead the way out of the lounge.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

They managed to find a small room with chairs and tables where they could talk in peace. Snape knew that she would want answers for other people in the wizarding world. After giving Potter his memories, which would be essential to Harry figuring out what needed to be done, he fled from the school. He spent a month locked inside his home, hiding when people came by trying to find him. He felt ashamed of everything he had done. The Daily Prophet was still being delivered to his house and once he read that Voldemort was gone he began his preparations for his departure from his home. He managed to contact Fred Craston who in turn assisted Snape with his disappearance from the wizarding world and into the muggle world. It had been a difficult transition but it was worth it. He did not want to be recognised as any sort of hero, not that he would be, of course. He was afraid of the laughs, the jeers, the satire people would find in the knowledge of how deeply in love he had fallen for Lilly Evans. He also didn't like the thought of people sharing jokes at his expense about how he was bullied and taunted by James Potter who ended up marrying Lilly. It was all too much for him. He was a private man and having people know his life story was humiliating.

He told Hermione of this when they were finally alone.

"I would greatly appreciate it if you did not tell people of my whereabouts. I don't want people poking into my life again to taunt me."

Hermione looked at Snape in astonishment. The man had been through a lot. She couldn't believe that after everything he had done to help end the war against Voldemort he still felt guilty! Of all things he felt guilt.

"Professor," she looked into his dark eyes which were avoiding her own. "Professor hardly anybody knows about your history with Harry's parents. Only some of those who were at the heart of the war with Harry know about it. Harry didn't think it was anybody else's business, he told people of the good things you did. He understands why you did those things, honestly, most of the time you didn't have a choice."

"I allowed the Carrows to torture students who were under my protection when I was headmaster. I killed people," Snape whispered. "I killed good people, I killed Dumbledore!"

"You had no choice, had you stopped the Carrows, Voldemort would have suspected something, Professor we know, but we also know that it was Dumbledore's wish for you to be the one to kill him if the curse didn't kill him before the situation came to fruition. Everyone in the wizarding world knows that. Sure there are still some people out there who don't like you, but there are people who don't like Harry, or me, or Ginny. There are always people out there who aren't going to like you but you can't let them stop you."

Hermione looked at the man who had only half an hour ago looked content with life. She realised that despite the front he had up most of the time his past still haunted him, and prevented him from talking to people who still cared for him in the wizarding world. His brows were knit together in contemplation.

"I, I must apologize," he started. She was about to say there was nothing to say sorry for but he looked her in the eyes and continued, giving her no time. "During your years at Hogwarts I was unfair to you, among many other students. I have realised over the past few years that the way I talked down to you resembled the way I was treated by my peers during my learning years there. It sickens me to think that I was so cruel. I disliked Potter due to his resemblance to his father, combined with the fact that he was a constant reminder of what I had lost. However that is no excuse. If my sessions with Craston have taught me anything it is that I still have a lot to learn and a lot to make up for. Despite how I treated you you were one of my brightest and most promising students. In fact the knowledge you possessed often reminded me of Lilly, she was also the brightest witch of her age. And so, Hermione Granger, I am truly sorry. I had no right to treat you like that."

Snape was looking at the floor by the end of his speech. He didn't want to look her in the eye for fear of seeing anger. Hermione was looking at him in awe. Tears stung her eyes and her mouth was hanging slightly open. Truly she was speechless, for possibly the first time in her life.

She managed to snap herself out of her trance enough to put her hand on his to gain his attention. He looked at her.

"I forgive you," She whispered hoping her voice wouldn't break. "Thank you, Snape."

They smiled at each other before being interrupted by Linda falling against the frame of the door drunkenly. Hermione removed her hand from Snape's and composed herself quickly. The drunken lady was singing with an atrocious out of tune voice. She stopped singing and giggled while looked at the two people sitting opposite each other.

"You two," she said with slurred words, "you two disappeared! I was dancing all alone with no one with me, but it's ok. I had fun. What are you guys talking about? You look very cosy."

She winked at Hermione with a huge grin on her face.

"I think it's time we put this one to bed," said Snape in commanding voice. Hermione nodded as her cheeks burned.

"You can take me to bed anytime!" Linda smirked. "So long as your friend here doesn't object."

Hermione's blush deepened as she stood up to help Snape who had his arm around drunken Linda. She walked over and put her arm around Linda's waist to help prop her up. Linda threw her arms around Snape and Hermione's necks.

"You two are very strange people. You're all serious and secretive. Do you actually know each other?"

Snape smiled at the ground as they began to walk towards the elevator.

"We only met tonight, why would we hide knowing each other?"

"There'd be no point," Hermione said.

"Well for all I know you're covering something up. I don't know, people like to hide things. Like my ex, he liked to hide 'friends' of his!" Linda's laugh quickly died.

"You're definitely drunk!" Hermione laughed.

Together Snape and Hermione managed to get Linda to her room and into her own bed. Before she could sleep they persuaded her to drink a glass of water. They left her with a bucket beside her and another glass of fresh water on the bedside table for when she woke up.

After leaving her room Hermione and Snape stood in the hallway.

"I think it best we continue as though we didn't know each other prior to this evening for the weekend, at least while in the presence of other people," Hermione said with a smile.

"I agree; it would be out of the ordinary to change that now, it could draw unwanted attention."

"Yes, well I must be heading off now, it's getting late."

They awkwardly shook hands and said goodnight to one another before heading back to their rooms.

* * *

Once alone Snape had time to reflect upon the evening's events. It was strange to have seen Granger again after so long. She had certainly changed a lot. She was a know-it-all before; she was even more of one now only she didn't flaunt it. He found himself surprised at how easy she had been to talk to. How much could a person mature within only two and a half years?

After having a quick shower he got into bed to read before sleep but his thoughts were distracted. Suddenly he found he was thinking about what the following day would entail, what conversations would be held and why Hermione had mentioned Ginny Weasley's name instead of Ron Weasley. He still read the Daily Prophet. He hadn't subscribed for fear of being found. Instead at every weekly session Fred gave Snape all of his copies from the week. From what the paper was saying Ron and Hermione were a couple. He made a mental note, before falling asleep, to slide the question into a conversation the following day.

* * *

As soon as Hermione closed the door to her room she stripped and climbed into the shower to wash off the dull feeling of intoxication. Despite the low levels of alcohol in her system Hermione was feeling light and relieved for the first time in ages. Severus Snape was alive and doing well, for the most part. She could understand why he felt guilty but at the same time she knew that he need not feel it for his role in the war was paramount. The stress he was under was sure to cause a few blips here and there. No one could have done a better job; in fact most people would have surely gone insane under such stress. Without Snape the war against Voldemort would have been a losing battle. She only wished that she could get him to see it like that. Then maybe he would feel better about himself.

Had she been told yesterday that she would find Severus Snape's company enjoyable she would have laughed it off. Now, however, she found herself thinking that he was almost like an old friend. 

Shaking her head to get rid of such thoughts Hermione finished her shower before drying off and going to bed to read a book.


End file.
